In warehouses, shipping terminals and many other types of facilities, complex conveyor systems are utilized to move large quantities of articles to and from storage and also to deliver them to selected accumulation points such as truck loading docks. These systems have become large and complex and, to handle the volume of articles which must be transported, it has become necessary to increase the speed with which articles are moved along the system. In recent years the demand placed on these systems has necessitated the speed with which the articles are moved by the system to be increased from one or two hundred feet per minute to five hundred feet or more per minute. This increase in operating speed creates a number of problems and greatly complicates the design requirements of diverter switches capable of effective operation under such conditions.
The time period during which the diverter must shift between active and retracted positions has to be greatly reduced. Thus, the time interval during which the diverter must shift between retracted and active positions has been reduced to a few milliseconds. Further, the diverter member must be capable of absorbing significantly higher impact loads due to the increased speed of diverter shoe and pallet movement. This is further complicated by the fact that in some cases, the loads being carried by the individual pallets also has been increased. This further complicates the problem of impact absorption. It is also important that the diverter mechanism be dependable as a means of effectively diverting only those of the pallets selected for diversion.